Last night (6/14) Michael and Will came out and stage doored. Mike, Kristolyn, Laura, and Jennifer all quietly went out the front door of the theater to avoid the stage door. Ben was whisked from the front doors of theater into his car in the blink of an eye. Rachel walked out of the stage door and stopped to wave but didn't sign or take pictures.
Tonight (6/15) Laura, Michael, Alana (on for Kristolyn) and Jennifer came out and signed. Rachel stepped outside and waved and apologized that she wouldn't be signing.
Eohriner17 said: "bexplex said: "Is Sunday the best day to go for a full cast? I have the same question, is Sunday the best day to see the whole cast?
I went this past Sunday. They did the whole setup shebang - barriers up, stage manager came out, security guard, etc. A guy made an an announcement about the rules (no selfies, only 1 signed item per person, pass playbills to the front, no pushing, etc). It wasn't until about 30 mins after the show ended that they announced NO ONE would be coming out as the cast had a previous engagement they needed to get to. They took the barriers down right that second and that was that. So, you never know.
That's originally why I thought no one came out this past Sunday, but then photos popped up all over Instagram of the cast all on a boat so clearly that wasn't the case. I do have to say, there were quite some obnoxious people around the barrier, it appeared some of them hadn't even seen the show (at all) and they were freaking out. It would have been fine if they could collect themselves, but seriously people - calm down.
I don't have a lot of information about this - only what I'm gleaning from this thread. But it seems like this must be an especially nasty stage-door crowd if it's discouraging multiple principal cast members from coming out. I keep track of stage-door info on social media a fair amount, and I'm not sure I've ever seen a tweet like Michael's. Though come to think of it, I do remember Lin-Manuel's tweet about people following his car. Let's hope this doesn't escalate to that point. It pains me to think of these immature people stage-dooring a bad name.
I was at the show last night- my daughter went to stagedoor while I hung back. I can safely say it was absolute insanity. The worst part was seeing Ben being dragged through the front doors and right into a car by security - he was literally shaking and looked like he had been through a war. I'm still haunted by it. It happened so quickly and suddenly that no one said a word or took a picture. Will Roland was taken out by security as well but smiled. According to daughter, Only ppl who came out and signed were Laura, Olivia Puckett (u/s for Alana who was on) and Connor's understudy who wasn't even on. Security said no talking, no selfies and only one signature per person. Rachel did come out last but gave a quick wave and left immediately. She also seemed ill during the show so I didn't expect she'd even come out stagedoor.
That image of Ben was unnerving. This isn't healthy...
As much as I want too I might just skip this when I go in August (i.e. Stagedoor, still seeing the show) it seems like posts are making it just not worth the stress or hassle
I haven't been to a stage door since Idina Menzel in IF/THEN.
Seeing the terrified look on her face as people screamed at her, grabbed at her, and threw things to sign at her completely soured me from ever doing it again. No one deserves to be treated like that and I refuse to allow myself to be associated with it.
LYLS3637 said: "I haven't been to a stage door since Idina Menzel in IF/THEN.
Seeing the terrified look on her face as people screamed at her, grabbed at her, and threw things to sign at her completely soured me from ever doing it again. No one deserves to be treated like that and I refuse to allow myself to be associated with it. "
I didn't stage door If/Then, but I did wait for Idina after a concert back in 2010, and I felt the exact same way. The behavior was so gross that I felt dirty just having been there, even though I don't think I did anything out of line. I have gone to plenty of civilized stage-doors though. Even A-list movie stars usually don't invoke the kind of rabid fan-behavior that Idina and (it seems) the cast of Dear Evan Hansen does. I've waited for tons of huge celebrities that had large crowds and eager fans, but not with that kind of ferocious zeal.
froote said: "No talking? So why is it so bad, the amount of people there or the way the people are acting or both?"
Both, probably. Plus, you start talking to one fan and then every other fan after them thinks they get to have the same amount of conversation time, and it snowballs.
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
That will literally never happen. Mike already told people why he doesn't stage door in his NYT piece and Ben can't handle how huge it has gotten it seems. I saw Idina as well (as I passed it) get grabbed, yanked, pulled into selfies she didn't want, and sign like 10 things for the same person. It was horrible. I'm glad Ben has good security so he can leave quickly after every show.
No actor needs to do stage door, it's not a requirement, contrary to what some people actually believe.
That's originally why I thought no one came out this past Sunday, but then photos popped up all over Instagram of the cast all on a boat so clearly that wasn't the case. I do have to say, there were quite some obnoxious people around the barrier, it appeared some of them hadn't even seen the show (at all) and they were freaking out. It would have been fine if they could collect themselves, but seriously people - calm down. "
When I was in NYC over Memorial Day weekend, our group went for a walk after our evening show (we'd gone to see Aladdin). We ended up walking down the street that had the stage door for DEH. The crowds were nuts. It reminded me of the clips you'd see of Beatlemania - in fact we at first thought the mob was for Josh Groban because of all the Great Comet posters on the street.
Ben was utterly, utterly mobbed - it had to be at least 5-6 deep around him and they were as close as they could get short of jumping the barrier. Like, literally it seemed like people were climbing over each other for a chance to get closer to him. The fangirling was atrocious - people shouting at him and the rest of the cast, etc. I can only imagine how it must feel to be on the receiving end of that, especially night after night. I have never seen a stage door like that. Made me seriously rethink us even bothering after we see DEH this November if it continues to be that way. I don't want to be a party to that kind of behavior.
I saw DEH last Friday, and I was the last to leave because they only had a working credit card machine for merch on the bottom floor, and there was a long line. I exited the theater and there are police and tons of screaming. Someone JUMPED over the barrier to get to the cast (I heard someone say) and I saw a guy being dragged away by police. It was honestly like witnessing a horrible riot, it is such a shame that after seeing something so beautiful and positive, something so negative and awful has to happen so frequently at that stage door. It reminds me of when Hamilton and the original cast was still there.
froote said: "No talking? So why is it so bad, the amount of people there or the way the people are acting or both?
Both and then some. The crowd was 7-8 deep, screaming, fangirling, crying etc. I think security just wants it to be over as quickly as possible. My daughter said if they said even one word it looked like security would whip them. And that look on Ben's face told me everything. If he ever comes out again I'd be stunned. Or he just wasn't well last night, but he looked terrified.
Nycat63 said: "froote said: "No talking? So why is it so bad, the amount of people there or the way the people are acting or both?
Both and then some. The crowd was 7-8 deep, screaming, fangirling, crying etc. I think security just wants it to be over as quickly as possible. My daughter said if they said even one word it looked like security would whip them. And that look on Ben's face told me everything. If he ever comes out again I'd be stunned. Or he just wasn't well last night, but he looked terrified.
I've actually had multiple occasions where I have witnessed this stage door. Once while I was at the stage door for Bandstand, another time where I happened to be on the street and the exact time the show was over, and then after we finally attended DEH. I've never wanted to be a part of the crowd but I stood on the other side of the street and watched as Ben got whisked away into his car multiple times. To me, he didn't look terrified or anything like that. He just looked like he was trying to get into his car unnoticed, which is very understandable. He has security that do a good job too. It's sad he has to do that, but it totally makes sense. Anyway, just to say that yes he literally has to be almost hidden by the security guards and gets into his car as fast as he can, but they have it figured out now that he never gets mobbed or anything.
karissa3 said: "Nycat63 said: "froote said: "No talking? So why is it so bad, the amount of people there or the way the people are acting or both?
Both and then some. The crowd was 7-8 deep, screaming, fangirling, crying etc. I think security just wants it to be over as quickly as possible. My daughter said if they said even one word it looked like security would whip them. And that look on Ben's face told me everything. If he ever comes out again I'd be stunned. Or he just wasn't well last night, but he looked terrified.
I've actually had multiple occasions where I have witnessed this stage door. Once while I was at the stage door for Bandstand, another time where I happened to be on the street and the exact time the show was over, and then after we finally attended DEH. I've never wanted to be a part of the crowd but I stood on the other side of the street and watched as Ben got whisked away into his car multiple times. To me, he didn't look terrified or anything like that. He just looked like he was trying to get into his car unnoticed, which is very understandable. He has security that do a good job too. It's sad he has to do that, but it totally makes sense. Anyway, just to say that yes he literally has to be almost hidden by the security guards and gets into his car as fast as he can, but they have it figured out now that he never gets mobbed or anything.
"He was possibly unwell. Something was a tad off even during the performance. So it could also have been the night. But I still can't imagine him coming out now even if he's feeling ok.